Meet the Hong Kong international joining superstars like Jackson Martinez and Alex Teixeira in mega-bucks Chinese Super League

Hong Kong international Jack Sealy says he hopes his close season move north to the headline-grabbing Chinese Super League will help him to cement his place in Kim Pan-gon’s national team.

The England-born defender sealed a move to top flight side Changchun Yatai after an impressive campaign for Hong Kong Premier League outfit South China and said he hoped his exposure to a higher standard of football would improve his game and help him become a regular in Kim’s starting 11.

“I’ll be playing with better players which should up my game quite a lot,” said Sealy. “Hopefully I can nail down a starting spot every game because at the moment I’m in for some games and left out for others. I’m hoping that if I can up my game, Kim can trust me and put me in for every game.”

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Hong Kong face a tricky task in their final World Cup 2018 qualifier against Qatar on March 24, where a win will give them hope of progressing to the next stage of the qualifiers and a draw will see them secure their place at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in United Arab Emirates. And Sealy, who started in both of Hong Kong’s dramatic draws against China in the qualifying campaign, is realistic about the SAR’s chances.

“We’ve got Qatar coming up and we’re just looking for a draw there and to try and go through the group,” said Sealy. “There’s a bit of expectation, because we’ve done well in the last few games, that we’ve got to actually start getting to tournaments and not just being underdogs.”

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Speaking from a preseason training camp in Dubai, Sealy said he was settling in well at his new club.